Fedor survives scare to hand Brett Rogers his first loss

(Editor’s note: This story also appears in the National Post)

There was so much myth-making surrounding Saturday night’s Strikeforce showdown between Fedor Emelianenko, the Rasputin-like Russian juggernaut, and Brett Rogers, the hulking Chicago tire mechanic with hand grenades for hands, that it was impossible to live up to the hype. Fedor’s 31st victory in 32 fights – courtesy of a lunging right hook that nearly unhinged Rogers’ head from his neck in the second round – was entirely expected. He is, after all, the world’s best heavyweight and the baddest man on the planet.

But that didn’t stop Rogers from rewriting the script in the opening round. The 28-year-old had punched his way to a perfect 10-0 record, including a 22-second knockout of former UFC heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski earlier this year, and into the biggest MMA fight of the year. Against Fedor he was considered a lottery-ticket long shot with the proverbial puncher’s chance of winning, and he gave it his best shot, literally.

Just a few seconds into the opening round Rogers connected with the first punch he threw, a stiff countering jab to Fedor’s face that broke his nose and sent blood streaming onto the canvas. And while Fedor returned fire, clipping Rogers and taking him momentarily to the mat, a statement had been made. It was like the scene in the Arnie-versus-alien movie, Predator, when he realizes that if it bleeds he can kill it. Suddenly, the improbable seemed possible.

Later, Rogers used his 30-plus-pounds size advantage to pin Fedor against the cage – a new experience for the former PRIDE champion who had previously only fought in boxing rings. Once on the ground he survived Fedor’s submission attempts and swept him onto his back. As he began dropping bombs onto Fedor’s head and arms, the sold-out crowd of 12,000 at the Sears Center Arena in Rogers’ hometown began chanting U-S-A. And for just a moment they, along with the millions of TV viewers tuning in to CBS, believed they were watching history in the making, like the fall of the Berlin Wall.

How quickly we forgot that while Beowulf may have defeated Grendel this storybook story called for an entirely different ending. How quickly we forgot that Fedor’s greatest weapon isn’t his fists or knees nor his ability to twist and tear apart limbs, it’s his ability to survive, to absorb ungodly amounts of punishment, to take a licking and keep on ticking. So Fedor did survive the opening-round assault, which in retrospect probably only served to remind him that he was in a real fight and not merely a sparring match.

It had been three years since one of his opponents had seen the second round, although Rogers was afforded just a glimpse. Less than two minutes in, as if tired of playing this silly game, Fedor ended it by hurling a huge overhand right at Rogers jaw that crumpled him. A few meaningless punches later and the referee stepped in to officially stop the bout. Some, including Rogers himself, may have felt the stoppage was premature, but it was clear that he was hurt by the way he curled into the fetal position with his hands and arms covering his head.

Afterward, Fedor appeared unfazed.

“I felt myself really good,” he said through his interpreter. “Thanks for asking. It was a very good fight and Brett has a lot of good size, which other fighters did not have. The main thing is not to be nervous, to take some time in the first round to learn a little bit about the opponent and then to look for an advantage.”

Rogers, meanwhile, was clearly upset and disappointed, and challenged Fedor to a rematch. “The speed on his right hand –- I think a lot of people sleep on that,” said Rogers. “I definitely knew that that was his punch and I’m just going to work real hard on defending that. I like to throw punches and I like to drop my hands and he kind of capitalized on that. I let him get too close.”

A second crack at Fedor isn’t likely to come anytime soon, though. Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Fabricio Werdum, who defeated Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva by unanimous decision earlier on Saturday’s card, will probably face Fedor next, with the winner advancing to a shot at Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem.

Rounding out the four-fight main card, Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi earned a second-round TKO victory in a non-title bout with judo specialist Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, who, like Rogers, proved surprisingly game in the opening frame by tossing Mousasi to the mat with ease. But it was all Mousasi, a vicious striker and one of Fedor’s training partners, after that as he took the fight to the ground and pounded out a win. And in the battle for the vacant Strikeforce middleweight title, grappler Jake Shields survived a scary rear-naked choke attempt in the dying seconds of the third round to grind out a five-round decision over Jason “Mayhem” Miller, the obnoxious star of MTV’s MMA reality TV show Bully Beatdown.

The most-notable fight from the preliminary card was Marloes Coenen’s first-round armbar submission of Roxanne Modaferri which sets her up as the top contender for Strikeforce women’s 145-pound champ Cris “Cyborg” Santos.

A full list of the results:

Fedor Emelianenko def. Brett Rogers via TKO – Round 2

Jake Shields def. Jason “Mayhem” Miller via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)

Gegard Mousasi def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou via TKO – Round 2

Fabricio Werdum def. Antonio Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Marlos Coenen def. Roxanne Modafferi via submission (armbar) – Round 1

Jeff Curran def. Dustin Neace via submission (injury) – Round 1

Shamar Bailey def. John Kolosci via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

Nate Moore def. Louis Taylor via submission (strikes) – Round 2

Christian Uflacker def. Jonatas Novaes via unanimous decision (29-26, 30-25, 30-25)